Ultima IX Nitpicks - New Magincia
Here you’ll find inaccuracies in New Magincia, its corresponding dungeon Hythloth, the neighbouring isle of Buccaneer’s Den, and the Gargoyle city of Ambrosia in Ultima IX. Ignorance of predecessors Sailing It’s most strange that the Avatar forgot how to sail a ship. After all, he had no problems maneuvering in Ultima IV, V, VI, and VII. Buccaneer's Den establishments The House of Games and the Baths are both gone since Ultima VII. Sheep to goats What happened to the sheep? New Magincia was once famous for its great sheep population. They have all become goats in Ultima Ascension. Buccaneer's Den-New Magincia tunnel A tunnel between Buccaneer’s Den and New Magincia? Let’s just take a look at the map of Ultima V for that matter: The distance between the two isles equals a quarter of Britannia’s width. Building that tunnel, especially without our world’s modern technical means, certainly took centuries. Hythloth All of a sudden, Hythloth is the dungeon that opposes Humility, and the Stygian Abyss the one that opposes Spirituality. In former Ultimas, Hythloth was the dungeon opposing Spirituality. There was no dungeon opposing Humility, and the Stygian Abyss was not connected to a Virtue. Draxinusom Draxinusom is never mentioned, despite being the one who sought the way of peace between the races together with Lord British at the end of Ultima VI, who upheld the old Virtues of the Gargoyles facing the new philosophy of the Fellowship in Ultima VII, and who led Britannia in Underworld II when Lord British was trapped in the Blackrock Dome... Queen Zhah All information about the Gargoyles so far suggests that there are no female Gargoyles, and the name “Zhah” doesn’t sound Gargish. Lost Gargoyle Shrines The Gargoyles have been honoring Control, Passion, and Diligence for centuries - We get the information from the journal and directly from the game in Ambrosia. But where are the precious statues of Mondain, Minax and Exodus, which symbolized those three principles in Ultima VI and 7? Canalization of Magincia? It is stated that Hythloth had once been the canalization of Magincia, but in Ultima IV, Magincia was on the other side of Britannia from Hythloth. Samhayne's Offer In his journal, the Avatar complains about Samhayne bribing him with the Codex, and it seems there is no other choice for him as to accept Samhayne’s offer. However, it doesn't occur to hi to just take the Codex? That would not be theft, because the Avatar would just return the Codex to its rightful owner (the kingdom of Britannia), since Samhayne apparently stole it. Technical shortcomings Lack of recognition The Avatar experiences an awkward situation when he meets Samhayne the first time. The Codex is lying on the desk in front of him all the time, but Samhayne has to tell him what book it is! Is he too distracted because he is talking to Samhayne? Or does he not recognize the Codex because he almost never saw it closed? Swamp boots It was always strange that swamp boots could save you from poison, but in Hythloth, they now even save you when you swim in the mud. Raven's hand Blackthorn plunges a dagger into Raven’s hand. When you see her the next time, she isn’t even wounded. Arrival in Ambrosia How comes the Avatar suddenly appears within the dome of Ambrosia? It's also strange that the Gargoyles just stand around there and don’t notice the “False Prophet” appearing out of the blue from nowhere. Marooned sailor The marooned sailor in Ambrosia continues trading as if nothing had happened after the destruction of the dome. Small islands Raven and the Avatar talk about possible future plans and think of “retiring to a small island near Buccaneer’s Den”. However, there are no small islands near Buccaneer’s Den. Valoria and Bucaneer's Den Raven speaks: “As for where we go next, I’d suggest we look into Trinsic or Valoria. They’re both easy to get to from here.” However, because Valoria is the second-hardest town to get to from Buccaneer's Den. (The first being Yew) Codex symbol In previous Ultimas (e.g. the ending of Ultima VI), there is a Codex symbol on the Codex. That’s probably why it is called “Codex symbol”. However, there is an ornamented cross on the Codex in Ascension. Backpack The Avatar appears without his backpack in all video cutscenes, with only one exception: the one with Samhayne, where the backpack plays a major role. Hythloth entrance If you check the Hythloth entrance before you meditate at the shrine (and get to Ambrosia), you’ll see that it’s blocked. However, when you leave Hythloth later on, the entrance is suddenly open. Blackthorn vs. Raven When you finish Despise, you get a cutscene in which Raven throws a dagger to Blackthorn’s head, and it spins further away. As Blackie withdraws, we clearly see he does not have the dagger in his hand, but, as they are at Samhayne’s place, he pierces Raven’s hand, with her own dagger that was spinning away. Skiffs In Ultima IX, you need docks to land with a ship; of course, this is more realistic than in Ultima VI and 7, but why don't the vessels have skiffs like in Ultima V and VI? Sky boots The sky boots only work in Ambrosia. General problems Samhayne and the Codex Why did Samhayne never take a look into the Codex himself? Granted, he would not have been able to read it without the lenses. However, Samhayne acts as if the Codex’s only use for him was trading it for a rather small favor. Why didn't he search for the lenses? Watertight? How did the marooned sailor get through the watertight dome? Wolves in New Magincia How did wolves migrate to New Magincia? They can’t swim. Blackthorn and the runes When the Avatar is captured by Blackthorn after Samhayne’s treason, it doesn’t occur to good old Blackie that he could strip the Avatar of the runes of Compassion and Humility. Wyrmguard in Hythloth How did the Wyrmguard actually get into Hythloth? The nature of humility Katrina says she is “humbler than anyone else”. This statement can never be humble. (See also Ultima VI, where Katrina reacts reserved when you ask her if she is the most humble person in New Magincia.) However, it should be noted that Katrina was being slightly influenced by the Column. Sailing problems The Column of Hythloth causes the sailors of Buccaneer’s Den some trouble? Moonglow is much closer to the Column; why don’t they have similar problems there? Britain, too, is not very far away from the Column. (by Hacki Dragon) Blackthorn plot holes Huge plot holes can be found when Blackthorn captures the Avatar. Let’s reconstruct it: Blackthorn wants to capture the Avatar just as the Avatar is leaving Despise. Raven stops Blackthorn to take the Avatar to Samhayne later on; he’s got an offer for the Avatar, which involves the Avatar disabling the Column of Hythloth in order to get the Codex. All of that had been ordered to Samhayne by Blackthorn, as we will learn at a later point in the game. What interest could Blackthorn or the Guardian have in a shrine-cleansing? Let’s continue: the Avatar does the job and then wants to claim the Codex. Here he is captured; it was a trap; Blackthorn and Samhayne had planned everything. When Raven rescued the Avatar at Despise, she already talked of a possible deal with Samhayne. This means that Blackthorn had already discussed the issue with Samhayne; a nice trap had been prepared in Buccaneer’s Den. Despite that, Blackthorn already wanted to capture the Avatar at Despise. It gets worse. Raven always knew about Blackthorn’s deal with Samhayne (which you learn during the sequence in Buccaneer’s Den or later in Moonglow), and nevertheless, she intervened at Despise. All in all, this is an amazing thread of the plot, but unfortunately, it’s also completely illogical. Who in the world worked this out? If Samhayne originally wanted to have a different deal with the Avatar and was bribed by Blackthorn after Raven rescued the Avatar, then why didn't Blackthorn instantly ambush the hero at Samhayne’s house? And if Blackthorn did not talk to Samhayne until the assignment had been delivered to the Avatar, then where did he get the Codex from? If Samhayne had in fact already owned the Codex before those events, then why didn’t he return the Codex to its rightful owner, the kingdom of Britannia? Blackthorn's eye injury The thing with Raven’s hand injury gets worse if you take into account that the injury of Blackthorn’s eye, which was caused by a knife as well, has not yet healed. (Blackthorn’s even capable of casting spells, after all.) External links * Hacki's Ultima Nitpicks - hosted by Bootstrike Category:Ultima IX Nitpicks